Corridor Z Review

Corridor Z was originally released in April 2015 for IOS and Android and has now come to the PS4. The game certainly has moments and aspects that make it feel like a mobile game but it looks good and has some interesting ideas. The game comes from developer Mass Creation and I was excited to see what it had to offer.

The game is set in a school that has been invaded by zombies. Corridor Z has a front-facing camera, much like the boulder segments in Crash Bandicoot. The game is basically an endless runner with zombies that chase you through corridors and avoiding obstacles.

For a simple endless runner style game, it does actually attempt to give the player some sort of story. At the start there is a cutscene that explains a viral outbreak has taken place in the local high school. You also find more backstory through journals you find during the game. I thought these could feel a little cheesy at times but I appreciated that the developers have tried to add more depth to the game.

You get to choose from three characters, the high school jock, a cheerleader and a stranded military man before starting out. The game starts out easy enough but the zombies become faster and more deadly as you progress. Much like other endless runners you have to avoid obstacles, pick up power-ups and carefully plan your movement. You can knock down shelves and other environmental objects to slow down the zombies chasing you. You can also get a good variety of upgradable weapons that really help fight of the enemy. Ammo is limited so you have to make your shots count. You also pick up rations to help purchasing upgrades and useful equipment.

As I said the camera is forward-facing meaning you are running towards the screen. This means you only have a short amount of time to avoid what appears on the screen. The game really does take some practice as I found at first I would die a lot. I haven’t played many endless runner style games but I have to say that the game has very difficult moments and lots of tension. I tried the game out on both PS4 and Vita and both work well. The game uses the touchscreen in a good way when it comes to shooting.

You also have mini objectives to contend with aswell during the game. This includes things like collecting the journal entries scattered throughout. I appreciated the extra elements added to a fairly simple game overall as it gives it a bit more depth. I found the game to be fairly addictive as the game loop feels satisfying. It made me want to do just one more run to complete objectives and get the next upgrade. I enjoyed how it can be played in short bursts, which feels perfect for the Vita. It’s certainly a game that I will enjoy playing on the go.

The game is certainly clichéd and a genre that has saturated the mobile market but the tense atmosphere and tone of the game works well and kept me invested. It also looks great considering it started out as a mobile game. The graphics look impressive on my big screen and even better on the vita. The dark and gloomy hallways set an eerie tone to the game, I would have liked to have seen a bit more variation in location design though. The sound design also works well and helps add tension to the game.

Corridor Z still feels like a mobile game, but that’s ok as it plays well and looks great. I could clearly see it was designed for touch screen use and I always find it a bit off-putting playing a touch game in a format that doesn’t have it (PS4), I think that’s why I preferred the Vita version.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the game considering I don’t really play mobile games or touch screen heavy games. If you like endless runner style games then I think that you will enjoy this as it feels fast-paced, frantic and has tonnes of tension. I also liked the extra objectives that add a bit of variety to the game. There is actually quite a lot to do here and I liked that there was some sort of backstory. This is worth a go if you have a Vita or mobile and looking for a fun game on the go.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.